I’ve seen so many unsuspecting people being taken advantage of by estate agents and mortgage advisors. All these people wish to do is move house; why should they have to run a gauntlet of bad practice and most worryingly, bad people!
So here’s my Mr Green Manifesto for 2012.
- Introduce a standard template terms of business that estate agents have to use. This will make it easy for customers to compare services accurately and make an informed decision. Just like mortgage brokers have to!
- Ban contract tie-ins that are longer than 12 weeks. I personally think 12 weeks is way too long but this would at least be a start.
- Make fees clear. Some agents are charging big percentage fees based on an overinflated price they put a property on the market for. And making it fixed! How one-sided is that!
- Be honest about conveyancing services. No hard sell. There needs to be a clarity of the relationships between agents and solicitors.
- Cut the bull. Customers don’t need it, there’s no point and life’s easier with honesty.
- What is the point of the NAEA? I know many terrible agents that are members. For that reason alone, I’ve refused to join. They should be protecting customers interests and helping improve standards. (I would absolutely love to be proved wrong on this).
6 very simple points that would make the estate agency industry so much better. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section. Agents have had it too easy for too long. Let’s make things better!
